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How to Become a Professional Football (Soccer) Player: 10 Steps (Part 2)

If you are thinking of becoming a professional football (soccer) player, read this: 5 steps (Part 2) on player’s journey to the football’s pro ranks.

Following the 1st part; here’s the list of other 5 essentials (steps: 6-10) a player needs to take on his journey to become a professional football (soccer) player.

Step 6: Create a great CV

Just like applying for a job, a football CV should be able to explain to a coach – or club, agent… – all about who you are as a player, in less than a minute. Include a player photo, height/weight, positions, experience, links to articles you’ve been featured in and statistics. More information on creating a good CV can be found here. Luckily for you, football network Fieldoo allows you to create and share a player CV online. You can even go the extra mile by creating your own website like I did.

Step 7: Find Opportunities

Now that you have the skills and the tools, you have to find ways to show off your talent. Here are a few ways to find opportunities:

Consider getting an agent, however many agents can be very deceiving, so be careful.

Some players have famously been accepted into pro teams, just by showing up to a practice session with their boots and asking if they could train with them.

Want to become a professional football (soccer) player?

Step 8: Perform Well

It’s easy to only think of getting to the next level, instead of focusing on your performances in matches. Take your football career game-by-game. Every game you play, focus on playing well and giving 110% as you never know who could be watching. Make sure you build good relationships with your teammates, coaches and club staff as having their off-field support will contribute to good on-field performances.

Tip: If you have a bad game, don’t get down about it. Write a list of things you can improve, and train to improve them.

Step 9: Be Persistent (Be Patient)

I knew it was going to be difficult, but trying to become a professional player was tougher than anything I ever imagined. That’s because becoming a professional soccer player doesn’t happen overnight. It doesn’t take months either. It takes years and a lifetime of dedication. When you hear people say that success takes ‘blood, sweat, tears’, they’re totally right. In football, no one ever cheated their way to becoming one of the less than 0.001% of the 240 million players worldwide, that ‘made it’. It takes time and patience. Sometimes you have to wait for the right opportunity. Sometimes it takes just a bit of luck to swing your direction, but being persistent and having the ability to never give up will determine whether you’re successful or not.

Step 10: Sign a Contract!

The final step in realizing your professional dreams is signing a pro contract with a club. Contracts should be carefully looked over in detail first, and if it’s your first contract, get it looked over by someone with experience in the area. Be careful when dealing with agents and take careful note of training compensation and player ownership issues.

Ready to enter the wheel of football transfers as an agent?

Fieldoo user Nick Humphries, 20, is a footballer who played in England (Wimbledon), Scotland (Montrose), Holland (Volendam), Hungary (Vasas) as well as with the Australian U20 national team. At 16 years of age, he was just an average amateur player with limited skills. Only one year later he was offered $120k+ in scholarships. Two years later he received a contract to play professionaly in Europe.